70 – My frindes
Anonymous
Neutral Spinet Recording
Organ - improvisation
This recording explores the use of many improvisatory elements. The improvisations are based on the melodic motif found in the opening two phrases of this piece. I used the original score as a point of departure and freely entered and rejoined the original text throughout the performance. In this recording I was trying to recreate the common practice during Tudor times of improvising music (whether in a sacred or secular setting). While this improvisation is interesting, I don’t believe that it was completely successful. Some of the harmonic language was a bit too modern for a piece of Tudor music. However, this is only noticeable at a couple of points in the recording. Overall, the recording is a partially successful piece of Tudor pastiche and has many moments of convincing imitation. Further refinements to this recording would need to focus on ensuring the harmonic language completely Tudor in style.
Spinet - with repeats
In this performance I attempted to transform this madrigal into an accompaniment for some form of courtly dance. The addition of repeats was an attempt supply more musical material to cover the performance of a dance. I selected a lively tempo to reflect the upbeat nature of this imaginary dance. Likewise, a rich bed of chord spreading was paired with complementary ornamentation to transform this piece into a suitably lively accompaniment.